If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

Monday, August 15, 2011

The things we do for love...

I remember when Bridgette went off to kindergarten, my heart ached because my little girl was growing up but at the same time I felt so good because she was becoming more independent. Isn't that the whole purpose of parenting, to help them grow up to be independent, productive citizens in our society?

I missed her constant chatter and questions but Bryan and I soon fell into a routine and became closer friends in her absence. It was a wonderful time for us after all to have that time alone. We always looked forward to pick-up time because we knew we were going to learn so much!

At first I wondered what she was learning and doing and would try to get her to tell us about her day. She would just give us a snippet and move on to other conversations. I soon learned to ask her something specific beyond simple, "Tell us about your day." The easiest question to get her going was usually, "What did you have for lunch?" One answer to this question is most memorable.

Her response was, "Well, we had these cooked onions...and Mama, they stunk so bad, I couldn't even eat the wieners!" I immediately knew the menu - sauerkraut. That dish has never been one of my favorites - in fact, it is far from it. I had the same attitude as Bridgette - Peee-yuuu! I smiled and assured her that I would never be cooking that dish. That promise has held true for more than twenty years...until today.

Mike has mentioned that he likes kraut and wieners several times. I just could not bring myself to buy a can of the stinking stuff. Then, my nieces gave him a jar that they had canned for his birthday. It sat on the shelf for almost a year. I decided that since he has worked almost twenty days without any time off, I need to give him some sort of special treat. Today I prepared Sauerkraut and Wieners.